SOLPERK 8A 12V Solar Charge Controller with LED Display, IP67 Waterproof PWM Intelligent Solar Panel Battery Regulator for Gel AGM Lead-Acid Lithium LiFePO4 Battery, Used in RV Boat Car

I used this as a replacement to a controller that melted. This does work but it might get warm. I do like this concept as it's easy to plug in and offers a quick glance status but it might need to be able to accept more power.

Works great with my old portable solar panels. This device keeps my boat batteries topped off. Highly recommend.

Additional review. I just completed an expedition style sailboat race, and this change controller almost caused me to drop out. I had no power to charge anything on the boat, so I would have to wait at checkpoints to recharge my devices. This was significant, because I could only briefly turn on my navigation devices when I needed to recheck my heading. It was pitch black out there.What happened? The solar panel failed, possibly during the drive to Florida. I'm not sure. I tested the power before I left, and things were going OK - I could easily leave the navigation lights on all night and only lose around .7V before morning. Things charged up OK.The first day on the challenge race, we charged electronics, including a small Bluetooth speaker, and watched the annoying flashing red/green LEDs showing the battery was charged. I thought everything was OK. However, within 15 minutes after turning on the LED navigation lights (nothing else was connected at this time), we lost all nav lighting. The breaker panel has a voltmeter, and it didn't display anything. I thought at first there was a wiring fault, but using a flashlight during troubleshooting, things looked OK. The wiring is very basic. After about 30 minutes, I rechecked the voltage, which read about 10V. We fortunately had red/green/white headlamps that we strapped on the rigging to get us through the following nights, but when morning came, I checked the solar panel. The open circuit voltage rapidly fluctuated between 7V and 17V, but open circuit amps displayed a few mA. It appears the panel had not been producing any charge the following day, but the dang charge controller is just flashing away reporting everything was OK.Let me say that when you have a charge controller with two LEDs (red for charging and green for charged), and the lights rapidly flash red and green when it's charged (and not a solid green you'd expect), it's safe to presume crummy engineering. I was tipped off before I left on the trip, and like the phrase "I have a bad feeling about this" from Star Wars, I did have a bad feeling about this charge controller but used it anyway. I wholeheartedly DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS. I did get a replacement charge controller before I left, and it behaved the same way, so I was HOPING things were OK. That wasn't the case.The instructions are not clear and are at least partly incorrect. Step 2 says to connect the solar panel and the controller, and "both indicator lights on the controller light up **at the same time.**" I'm thinking this reads as if they are both on and don't flash. Actually, the LEDs flash rapidly between green and red, and I was concerned something was going to blow up. Step 3 says to connect the batter from the controller to the battery, and the "only the CHARGING light on the controller is on." After the battery was attached, the controller continued flashing rapidly about another 1-1/2 minutes, so I'm thinking, "What the heck is it doing?" FINALLY, the light stays red. There is a 20 watt solar panel and a 20 A-Hr battery, so it charges up all day Saturday and it still charging at around 2:30 PM Sunday. I'm wondering how long this will go on for, and then suddenly the alternating red and green lights come on before my eyes. Step 4 says "both lights on the controller light up again" when the battery is fully charged at 14.2V, and the picture shows both red and green LEDs lit up, but the voltage was only around 13.4V. I have no idea if this is working correctly or not.

It works like many other economy charge controllers in the price range. I watched it with a volt meter for about an hour to see how it functions, and found not like instruction state. it did not get hot at all using a 30 watt small panel. once hooked up it reached 14.2v and floated for about 5 minutes then appeared to shut off and drop to static battery voltage in my case was 13.58v, all the while red light was on. I applied a small brief load and it repeated as described over and over. what i found was once the battery sat at static 13.58 for 15 to 30 mins after that apparent shut down mentioned the green light came on showing charged. Now ill see how long it lasts. The instructions say green light comes on with red light that's always on at 14.2v, i found this to be inaccurate in my case and i thought it was defective right out of box. 4 stars for functions not matching instructions.

Hi, this charge controller seems to work well and seems very well made. I think it is good value for the money. Simple and straight forward.I bought it to use with a 3.5 watt coleman solar battery maintainer which runs ok without a charge controller but.im.not sure if it adjusts for AGM batteries. This charger controller is made to adjust and it work fi e with the panel.The power consumption is good, because it has a diode to protect back flow of current.I havent checked it with a meter, but it is holding my battery at a good charge.The coleman solar maintainer also has a diode.One question i have is that the directions say to hook the charge controller up to the solar panel first and then the battery.I have contacted them to ask if there is an internal protection for that. I assume there is. Because most charge controllers need to be hooked to the battery first and then the panel.So i did it the safe way until i hear back from them. i will update if i get any more information.Update : i heard back from solperk and they explained it was okay to hook up the panel to the controller first. Heres what they said.Hi,For a 12V8A controller, it doesn't matter if you connect the battery or the solar panel first. You read elsewhere that connecting the batteries first is because their controllers are powered by batteries, ours uses solar panels for power, so both are fine. Also the controller will automatically recognize between lead acid, AGM, or Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries and adjust itself so please feel free to use it.Have a nice day.SOLPERK SERVICE

This solar charger works great.I like the fact that it’s waterproof

Good alternative when electric is not nearby.